Facebook for BlackBerry v2.0 Beta: Now with Facebook Chat!

UPDATE: In less than 24 hours, we have reached over 10,000 downloads of Facebook for BlackBerry Smartphones v2.0. To make sure more of you can download the app, 10,000 more beta trials have been added to BlackBerry Beta Zone!

I’m excited to announce the beta release of the Facebook® for BlackBerry® smartphones app v2.0 through BlackBerry® Beta Zone starting today. The Facebook app team here at Research In Motion® (RIM®) has been working hard to incorporate the feedback we have received from our users to make v2.0 the biggest update to the Facebook application since we released v1.0 more than three years ago. This initial release of v2.0 has a redesigned user interface and also offers Facebook Chat!

Below are some of the new features of Facebook for BlackBerry smartphones v2.0:

Facebook Chat

You can now check to see which of your Facebook friends are online and start a Chat conversation from within the Facebook application or within the unified mailbox on your BlackBerry smartphone.

On Facebook for BlackBerry smartphones, as long as your status is set to online, you still receive notifications even if you are not using the Facebook app.

Improved News Feed

Improved News Feed interactions enable you to scroll through your News Feed without accidentally clicking ‘Like’; you can simply click the ‘More’ button (+) to interact with your friends’ posts. Enhanced publisher functionality allows you post photos to your Wall, add an update, or check in to a Facebook Place from the News Feed.

New Navigation Control

By introducing a whole new way to navigate the Facebook for BlackBerry smartphones application, we’ve moved from a static navigation bar to a drop-down navigation control that is scalable to support new features in the future.

Notifications Bar

Borrowing from the BlackBerry® 6 OS’ “Today View”, the notifications bar offers an easy way to access your Facebook Notifications, Messages, Friend Requests and Chats from anywhere in the Facebook application.

External Notifications

You don’t have to leave the Facebook for BlackBerry smartphones app to see what’s new on your device. The BlackBerry smartphone external notifications header lets you see when you’ve received a new email message or BlackBerry® Messenger (BBM™) message without having to leave the Facebook application.

New Profile UI and Profile Information Viewing

The New Profile UI now provides Wall, Info, and Photo tabs for an even better browsing experience. New to v2.0 is the ability to view key information on Profiles and Pages, such as contact info, basic info like birthdays, hometown and relationship status, and likes and interests.

Head over to BlackBerry Beta Zone today to be one of the first users to join the beta for Facebook for BlackBerry smartphones v2.0! As this is an early preview, we have a limited number of beta spots open. Also, please note the initial beta release will be available for BlackBerry 6 users only, but support for BlackBerry® Device Software 4.6 and higher will be added in subsequent beta releases and will be available in the official version.

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http://mashable.com/2011/03/17/facebook-blackberry-2-0-beta/ Facebook for BlackBerry 2.0 Arrives in Beta Mashable | The Social Media Guide Facebook for BlackBerry 2.0 Arrives in Beta | The Social Media Guide

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[…] Blackberry wrote yesterday that more than 10,000 downloads had occurred in 24 hours since the apps’ release, since it’s still in beta, the company released 10,000 more. The update brings Blackberry’s Facebook app up to speed with recent platform changes, as the company hadn’t significantly redesigned the app for three years. For more news and market research to the mobile application ecosystem, visit Inside Mobile Apps. […]

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[…] months, we’ve introduced a slew of new features and functionality. Starting with the initial Facebook for BlackBerry smartphones v2.0 beta release, we introduced Facebook Chat and a brand-new interface. In the Facebook for BlackBerry smartphones […]

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